Rosemarkie was the site of an early Christian centre in the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Today, you can examine the surviving fragments of Pictish sculpture gathered together in our museum display. The centrepiece of the permanent exhibition is a magnificent Class 2 cross-slab, covered with elaborate and intricate designs reminiscent of Pictish metalwork. These include two crosses as well as three crescent and V-rod symbols, one double-disc and Z-rod, a comb, mirror, and mirror-case.

]]> A Class 3 cross-slab, now leaning, in the churchyard of the former parish church. On the west face is a Celtic cross, with a broad circle around the intersection; on the east face a Latin cross (upright, with the lower limb longest) and a horseman in relief, with two lower horsemen now concealed beneath the ground. No Pictish symbols are visible. The trees and shrubs in the church grounds illustrate the Gaelic Tree Alphabet. The first letters of their Gaelic names spell Eadar Dun, the old name for Edderton.
Fragments of Pictish stones found in the churchyard are now in Tain Museum.]]> A Class 3 cross-slab, now leaning, in the churchyard of the former parish church. On the west face is a Celtic cross, with a broad circle around the intersection; on the east face a Latin cross (upright, with the lower limb longest) and a horseman in relief, with two lower horsemen now concealed beneath the ground. No Pictish symbols are visible. The trees and shrubs in the church grounds illustrate the Gaelic Tree Alphabet. The first letters of their Gaelic names spell Eadar Dun, the old name for Edderton. Fragments of Pictish stones found in the churchyard are now in Tain Museum.]]>
This impressive Class 2 cross-slab was a landmark for local boats. It is now protected by a glass shelter. Facing the sea, its great cross is covered with bosses and interlocking spirals. On the back are five panels of decoration. At the top is a double-disc symbol above a Pictish beast, while another shows a hunting scene, fighting swordsmen and a hunter with a cross-bow. The complex patterns of serpents biting their own bodies have parallels in 8th-century metalwork from Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe. Its Gaelic name (Clach a’ Charaidh) means ‘stone of the grave-plots’. A burial ground here was recorded in 1889 as last used during the cholera epidemic of 1832 and ploughed under about 1885.]]> A replica, by Barry Grove, stands on the site at Hilton of Cadboll Chapel.
The Hilton of Cadboll cross-slab (Class 2) once stood outside St Mary’s chapel at Cadboll, the remains of which can still be seen as grass covered mounds. In 1676 the face bearing the cross was defaced and an inscription cut to commemorate Alexander Duff and his three wives. In the 19th century the stone was removed to Invergordon castle, and in 1921 it was presented to the British Museum in London. However the following year it was returned to Scotland and it is now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. In 2000, a new stone was set up at the chapel site, which was carved to reproduce as closely as possible the design of the surviving face of the original.]]> Housed in the refurbished interior of Tarbat Old Parish Church, the Centre displays fragments of Pictish sculpture revealed by ongoing excavations at the site. They include cattle licking their new-born calf, a rooting wild boar, and a snarling dragon with a serpent head on its tail. There are also replicas and photographs of the pieces of Pictish sculpture from Tarbat which are now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The excavations by the University of York have revealed an 8th-century Pictish monastery, its stone buildings, farm, and metalworking shop. The Centre has interactive touchscreens with information on the Picts, and shows a video on the Picts of Easter Ross. When the dig is in progress, tours guided by archaeologists are included in the admission charge to the Centre.]]>